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THE ORIGINAL
GREEN NEW DEAL-ER
HI ,
I hope you are safe, healthy, able to stay at home, and that your loved
ones are safe and healthy, too. If you have a job, I hope it remains secure
and that if you are going to work, you have the personal protective
equipment and safety protocols you need.
With the onset of this COVID-19 virus, reforms that the Greens have been
advocating for, like Medicare for All and a guaranteed income above
poverty, have become all the more necessary. The coronavirus economic
depression has already begun and we will need a full-strength Green New
Deal to get out of it [3].
The crisis is laying bare the fact that capitalism cannot provide for the
basic needs of all. It is profit-driven, not need-driven, and therefore has
no reason to provide for and protect human life. The crisis has also laid
bare the fact that the two-corporate-party government cannot solve our
problems, even in this crisis, the most basic problems.
Trump says he wants to send us back to work, school, and public and
religious services by Easter Sunday, even though the big liar has no power
to make that happen. Biden seems to be hiding out at an undisclosed
location.
The slow-moving Congress is finally the verge of passing at a relief
package. But it is a rich man's relief package that provides a generous
bailout for big businesses who will not have to maintain payrolls,
barebones relief for small businesses if they do maintain payrolls, and
insufficient funds for unemployed workers, medical equipment, and state and
local governments, which are going broke paying for emergency expenses that
the federal government should.
OUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IN THIS HEALTH AND ECONOMIC CRISIS IS MUTUAL AID.
WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER.
We should follow the advice of the public health professionals:
WASH YOUR HANDS: The COVID-19 virus has a fatty layer around it that just
soap and warm water break down and prevent the virus from attaching to
human cells. Of course hand sanitizer works, but in this period of
shortage, you can take relief that plain soap and water will do the trick.
Wash thoroughly, under nails and between fingers and on backs of hands, for
at least 20 seconds.
OBSERVE SOCIAL DISTANCING: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea [4], and
Vietnam have been able to "flatten the curve," or slow the rate of new
virus infections, by either enforcing or strongly suggesting social
distancing. Here in the United States, we can get the same effect with a
little self-discipline, where possible. Let's observe the advice to avoid
large gatherings, stay in the house except for required work and errands to
support life and safety, and keep the recommended six-foot social
distancing from other people when out and about.
USE FACE MASKS WHEN YOU’RE SICK: Face masks available to consumers are
not very effective in blocking the intake of airborne pathogens, but they
can be fairly effective in keeping you from spreading pathogens when you
are sick. Here is a listing of how-to videos [5] with some tips on how to
make your own.
STRENGTHEN SOCIAL BONDS WITH OTHERS AROUND YOU: One of the ways capitalism
undermines community is by atomizing us from one another. It fosters
dependency on the individualized and commodified satisfaction of needs
rather than collective responsibility for the satisfaction of many needs
through cooperatives and public goods and services. With the public sector
emaciated by decades of neoliberal austerity policies, it is a good time in
this time of crisis to get to know your neighbors and find ways we can help
each other make it through in the absence of the public sector we ought to
have.
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH FELLOW CO-WORKERS: With much of the economy on
lockdown, our notions of "essential personnel" have expanded. We are seeing
workers objecting to the lack of protection for their health and safety at
the workplace, like the sanitation workers in Pittsburgh, [6] and chicken
plant workers in Georgia [7]. These actions are only possible where workers
have built relationships with one another and are communicating. If you are
still working, organize among your workmates to demand what you need for
safety. We can all help workers by speaking out for the right of all
workers--from non-unionized minimum wage workers to unionized workers with
decent contracts--to healthy, safe workplaces. We can contribute to the
strike funds of workers fighting for their safety.
AND WHAT ABOUT OUR CAMPAIGN?
Our campaign is also doing its part to stop the spread of the virus. We
have suspended in-person petition-gathering. Instead, we are working with
state Green parties to petition their governments to place the Green Party
on the ballot--and to seek relief in court where state governments are not
responsive. Visit our Ballot Access page [8] to find out more.
The coronoa virus health and economic crises are exposing more than ever
the utter failure of the Democrats and Republicans to solve our problems. A
central goal of my campaign is to help build the Green Party into a major
party and force in American politics. My campaign just released my ebook,
_The Case for an Independent Left Party: From the Bottom Up_. Click here
[9] to read more about it.
Please do everything you can to maintain safety and health. The World
Health Organization (WHO) website [10]has reliable information based on the
best practices around the world. Let's all work together to get through
this.
In solidarity, Howie Hawkins
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Howie Hawkins 2020
howiehawkins.us [2] |
[email protected] | (315) 220-0101
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PO BOX 562
SYRACUSE, NY 13205-0562
United States
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